Eyes of Fire
by madiamazing
Summary: It was one small rejection, one tiny mistake, that would ruin her life forever. Scary story written for Halloween. Dark!Erik.


**_~Eyes of Fire~_**

* * *

She had her whole life ahead of her.

Christine was eighteen years old, and had just graduated high school in the top ten percent of her class. She'd always been an excellent student and a kind soul, more focused on her grades, extracurricular activities, and church to have much time for friends or relationships. Of course, as soon as high school was over, she wanted that to change, so when her cute, funny next-door neighbor invited her to attend a concert with him, she agreed with enthusiasm. College didn't start for another two months so she thought, why not?

It was late June, and they were apparently seeing one of Raoul's all time favorite punk-rock bands. He seemed very excited, and she tried to feel the same, though as soon as they got to the old, run-down building where the concert was being held, she got a weird feeling.

The band was okay; a little too shrieky for her taste, but she put on a mask of enjoyment for Raoul's sake. Christine had been hanging out in the back, watching Raoul act a fool in the mosh pit from afar, laughing a little at the wildness of it all.

That's when she heard his voice for the first time.

"Not much of a mosher, are you?"

Christine's head immediately turned toward the source of the voice; rich, smooth, most definitely the loveliest sound she'd ever heard, even though he had to shout a bit over the loud music. He was very tall, easily a foot taller than her five foot-three inches. His hair was inky black and shoulder length, and he was dressed in strange attire for a rock concert: black dress pants and black button down with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing long, pale, veiny arms and hands. But even his strangely perfect face was not the most unsettling thing about him, but rather his glowing, amber eyes that resembled two flames more than eyes. She guessed he was in his early-thirties at the least, not seeming to fit in at all here.

Of course, she was positive she didn't fit in either, with her fair hair, teal flannel, and jeans.

Not wanting to be rude, Christine shook her head and smiled shyly. "Heh, no, not at all," she replied, nervously tucking a stray blonde strand of hair behind her ear. His intense eyes had nothing on the intensity of his stare, and she found herself blushing under it nervously.

"Excuse me, I do not mean to make you uncomfortable," he assured her, his voice ridiculously sweet, seeming to echo around her head and make her feel...relaxed. All bad feelings about the evening and _him_ were forgotten for a moment. "I am simply curious, I feel as if I have seen you before. Did you happen to perform at the community talent show last month?"

Her eyes brightened. "Yes, I did! Were you there?"

"I was." His eyes burned. "I heard you sing. If you do not mind me saying so, you have the most astounding voice I have ever encountered. And I mean that with the deepest of compliments."

Her blush turned to one of embarrassment. "Oh, wow. That's...really nice of you to say. Thank you...heh."

"You are most welcome, Christine."

She shuddered. She hadn't told him her name; had he really remembered it from the talent show over a month ago? She supposed that wasn't _that_ abnormal…

He went on. "My name is Erik. I am a vocal instructor, and I would be honored for the chance to teach you. May I give you my contact information?"

"Oh...no. Thank you, that's very nice of you to offer, but I'm going off to college soon. I don't really see the point." She shrugged, laughing awkwardly.

"You do not see the point in becoming one of the greatest singers to ever live?" he pressed. Before she could answer, he kept going. "Just give me a few months, Christine. I assure you, you will rule the world with your voice if you allow me to make you exquisite."

His urging made her uncomfortable, and though she didn't want to seem rude, she knew she had to think of her own well being. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

She found Raoul and stayed close to him the rest of the night, though she still felt the unsettling stare of the yellow-eyed man burning into her back. Even after she went home, the strange feeling in her gut persisted, until the next day when she figured her nervousness was all in her head. The man was strange, yes, but perfectly nice and polite. Not threatening at all. She even felt a little bad for taking off so abruptly as she did. She hoped she hadn't hurt his feelings.

Weeks began to pass, and she never saw the man called Erik again. After a month, he had left her mind completely.

In early August, just two weeks before she would leave for college, she got a phone call as she was walking home from work one night. The number was blocked, so she ignored it.

And then it called again. Still, she ignored it.

A third time, and her curiosity won out. She picked up. "Hello?"

Nothing.

"Hello, this is Christine. May I help you?"

Again, nothing. She was approaching her house, and was just about to hang up and shrug it off when she heard it.

The voice. That endlessly sweet male voice.

"Hello, Christine," he said with warmth. Dread twisted her belly like a knife. "How are you this evening? I must say, you look stunning as ever."

She did not speak. Could not. Something was terribly wrong...she could _feel_ it. Oh, god...she could feel the fiery eyes on her again. She looked around frantically, unable to find them, however.

"Cat got your tongue?" he tsked. "No matter; you will be doing as I say anyway. That is, unless you want your parents to die."

She sucked in a terrified breath. No!

"You see, Christine, there are explosives hidden all over your house. If you look hard enough through the kitchen window, you will be able to see a little flashing red light, just on top of the cabinet nearest the refrigerator. Can you see it?"

She didn't want to look, didn't want to confirm the petrifying thought that this man was not lying...but she had to.

And he wasn't. "Oh, no…" she breathed, watching the tiny red light flicker on and off. On and off.

"Yes," he crooned. "It would be a tragic death indeed for your parents if you do not do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"

Tears flooded her eyes as she nodded slowly, fear choking off any speech she might have produced.

Wherever he was, he saw her nod. "Good. Now, I need you to walk back from whence you came. I will tell you where to go."

"W-what do you want?" she managed to cry out.

"No, no, no," he warned, the mock pleasantry of his voice truly frightening. "Another word and I set off the explosives. Do as I say. Now."

She obeyed in a fear-induced haze, her body feeling hollow and shaky as she turned and began to walk slowly away from her house. She cried quietly as she walked, turning wherever he ordered and hardly able to see through her tears. She'd never been so afraid in her life, but the thought of her parents being blown up because of her drove her forward to meet whatever cruel fate lay ahead.

"Now, you will come across a black sedan a couple blocks ahead. You will get in the backseat of it."

That was the final order he gave, and indeed, she found the parked black sedan in an area where no people or even houses were around. No hopes of being seen by anyone who could help. With violently shaking hands, she tugged on the handle of the car, opening the door and stepping in, still crying softly as she buckled herself in. The car was empty.

"Very good, Christine. I will be there in just a moment. Do not hang up, my dear, unless you want your parent to lose their lives."

The silence afterward seemed to stretch on forever, though it was only about half a minute later that the driver door opened and the man from the concert stepped inside, dressed in all black again, immediately turning the car on.

"You may hang up your phone now, and give it to me."

She did as she was told, avoiding making contact with his long, pale fingers as she handed him the phone, sniffling audibly. "Where are we going?"

"Hush," he murmured, tossing something into the backseat before beginning to drive. "Put this on."

She picked up the object, realizing it was a plain black sleep mask. "Why?" she whispered.

He sighed. "Do not test me, Christine. All I have to do is make one call and the explosives will be set off. Is that what you want, my dear?"

She shook her head fast, cringing at the endearment, and reluctantly pulled the eye mask on until she was blind. All she could do was tremble in the backseat and try not to get sick with the car's movements combined with her crippling fear.

The man drove for a very long time, and Christine never ceased her crying and shaking, unable to imagine what horrors would come ahead. But then, a voice began to sing to her. _His_ strange, hypnotic voice. It crept into her ears, swirling around her mind and embracing her with its persuasive loveliness. She tried to resist it, but was helpless to its power, and the voice lulled her to relax and eventually, fall asleep.

When she woke, her eye mask had been removed for her, and she found she was lying on a sofa in an unfamiliar, dim living room. Adrenaline coursed through her veins in a desperate need for escape, and she ran to the door before anything else, knowing in the back of her mind how hopeless it was. Still, she couldn't _not_ check, but of course, the handle did not budge. She was locked in.

She went to the windows next, frantically attempting to open them and then banging on the glass in frustration when they too did not budge. It was hard to see out into the dark night, but it looked liked this house was in the middle of nowhere, which made her frightened tears start up again.

"You could have had it all, Christine."

The voice tore a gasp from her lips, doing nothing to relax her this time, and she whirled toward it, pressing her back to the wall. Erik stood in the middle of the living room a couple yards away, and she prayed he would not come closer. The dim lighting cast his face in the strangest glow, almost reflective? And, of course, his eyes burned into hers, and they trapped her.

"W-what do you mean?" she eventually choked out. "Who are you?!"

"All you had to do was accept my offer," he sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Fame, money, adoration from the world...all wasted." He took a step forward, his long legs bringing him that much closer to her, and she cringed back further into the wall. "So quick to reject me, too, and get back to your young, handsome lover." Another step forward, and she whimpered, shaking her head but unable to respond. "Quite unfortunate for you, really, but thanks to your ignorance, your _selfishness_ , I've received the greatest prize of all."

He was standing very close to her now, towering over her with his imposing height, and she sobbed helplessly, unable to look away from the terrible, fiery eyes.

"You are my prize, Christine." He sunk to one knee in front of her, his unsettlingly perfect face almost level with hers now. "You have sealed your fate. You will be with me forever." He took her left hand in his, and she nearly shrieked at the contact of his pale, cold, papery skin on hers, as he slipped on a plain gold wedding band onto her ring finger. She trembled so violently that she thought she would faint. Mercilessly, she did not.

"I'm s-sorry, Erik," she sobbed. "I'll take voice lessons with you, I swear. I'm sorry...just please let me go!"

"Oh, no, Christine, it is much too late for that. Now, you are to be the living wife of a corpse."

"Corpse? What are you talking about?"

"I'll show you, my dear. But do not scream, or I will be very angry with you."

His unsettling words caused her stomach to twist, but what he did next stole the very breath from her lungs, and she let out the most terrified screech, a sound she didn't even think possible to make.

Erik had somehow removed his face, which she now realized had never been his actual face, but a very realistic looking mask. What was in front of her now was not much of face at all. The skin was greyish-yellow in color, a gaping black hole in the center where a nose should have been, all combined with the glowing twin lights that were his eyes...it was the most frightening and shocking thing she had ever seen, and it was _right_ in front of her. She could not stop screaming.

The already horrible face twisted in fury, and Christine feared she would throw up at the sight. "Erik told you not to scream, Christine," he growled. "He told you it would make him very angry!"

She fought with everything in her to get away, but he was much too strong. Erik took her hands in his tightly, raking her fingernails down his sallow cheeks, breaking the thin skin until blood trickled down, making him look even _more_ gruesome. She wailed and screamed and begged for him to stop, to let her go, but he only laughed maniacally. "Look what you've done, Christine! You've made Erik's face even worse! You would never think it possible, would you? But look at him now! LOOK AT HIM!" he screamed at her; for she had shut her eyes.

Her throat burned from screaming so much, but she thought of her parents, how they would die if she did not do what he said, and she opened her eyes. The sight of his terrible face now covered in scratches and blood caused her stomach to roll with nausea, and she gagged before he finally let go of her hands, breathing heavily as he stood and retrieved an object from across the room. He brought it to her, and she didn't think twice before vomiting into the bucket.

"Yes," he rasped. "Get it all out. Let out all the disgust, all the _revulsion_ you have for Erik. But hurry, my dear! We have a wedding to prepare for! We mustn't be late."

Christine stared up at him in misery from where she sat on the floor, pushing the disgusting bucket away. "Why…" she whispered, sniffling. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because," he explained calmly. "Erik loves you, Christine. And he will never, never leave you. And now, you will never leave _him._ "

She had her whole life ahead of her.

But now, as she looked on the face of death, into the eyes of fire, she understood that it had been taken from her forever.

* * *

 **Happy Halloween. :)**


End file.
